Both are open source and self-hostable. They were designed for different rooms: BigBlueButton for a classroom, Jitsi for a meeting.
At a glance
| Jitsi Meet | BigBlueButton | |
|---|---|---|
| Designed for | Meetings of all kinds | Online classes |
| Presentation and whiteboard | Screen share, basic whiteboard | Upload slides, rich whiteboard, annotation |
| Polls, breakout rooms | Yes | Yes, classroom oriented |
| LMS integration | Plugins, e.g. Moodle | Deep integration with major LMSs |
| Recording | Jibri, MP4 video | Built-in, web playback format |
| Minimum server | 2 vCPU, 4 GB | Much larger dedicated server |
| Install | Docker or supported Debian/Ubuntu packages | Release-specific Ubuntu requirements, dedicated host |
| Embedding in other apps | Easy (IFrame API, JWT) | Via API and front ends like Greenlight |
Choose BigBlueButton when
- You run structured courses with slides, whiteboard work and polls.
- Your school already uses an LMS and wants attendance and recordings inside it.
- You can dedicate a large server to it.
Choose Jitsi when
- Meetings are conversations: team calls, tutoring, consultations, interviews.
- You want to embed video into your own product or website.
- You want a lighter server bill and a simpler install.
- Participants join from anywhere with just a link.
Recording differences
BigBlueButton’s presentation playback combines media and classroom events in a browser. It is not one video file by default; an optional video workflow can produce one. Its recording documentation explains the distinction. Jitsi’s Jibri can record a rendered meeting as an MP4. See recording with Jibri.
Check the server budget and integration
The BigBlueButton 4.0 installation documentation currently recommends a clean Ubuntu 24.04 host with 8 CPU cores and 16 GB RAM for production. It lists 500 GB free disk space for recording, or 50 GB with recording disabled. These are release-specific requirements, not a capacity guarantee. Check the installation requirements for the version you intend to deploy.
Our small-group Jitsi starting point is 2 vCPU and 4 GB RAM, without a recording or transcription worker. Camera count, resolution and bandwidth change the capacity; use the server requirements guide and validate a representative call before buying a long-term server.
For an LMS, check the actual integration rather than the product name. BigBlueButton documents an LTI integration. Confirm whether your chosen connector supports the permissions, attendance and recording access you need. Do not assume that launching a room also synchronises grades.
Try the workflow before choosing
- Join as a teacher and student on the browsers and devices your audience uses.
- Run a representative lesson or meeting, including slides, screen sharing and any breakout activity.
- Record with participants’ knowledge, end the session and check how learners access playback.
- Check accessibility, moderator permissions and the effort needed to update and back up the server.
This is a practical evaluation checklist, not a benchmark. We have not run a matched capacity test of these two products for this comparison.
Our view
Evaluate BigBlueButton first when classroom workflows and learning-platform integration are central. Evaluate Jitsi first when you need conversational meetings or embedded video. Neither choice guarantees lower total cost: include recording, bandwidth and maintenance. We specialize in Jitsi and offer one-click hosting and hands-on help.